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171

Album Review

Rippingtons: Life in the Tropics

by Dave Hughes
January 1, 2001

As the title suggests, the latest from Russ Freeman does indeed have a tropical, Caribbean feel throughout most of the program. “Caribbean Breeze" is a sunsual classical guitar duet with Peter White. “Rhythm of Your Life," one of the hotter tunes on the program, features the Gloria Estefan-influenced vocal of Daisy Lourdes Villa. A horn trio of studio pros Jerry Hey and Gary Grant on trumpets and Bill Reichenbach on trombone spices up this tune as well as the hard-driving ...

208

Album Review

Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman: Topaz

by Dave Hughes
March 1, 2000

The Rippingtons' latest CD,Topaz, was inspired by Taos, New Mexico - both its history and its present. This influence is primarily expressed with the addition of the carved wood flute of Robert Tree Cody on several selections. On some songs, the acoustic guitars and/or percussion paint an aural picture of serene, wide-open spaces with flowing melody lines and gently galloping rhythms. On a few other songs, though, the effect is derailed by the more mechanical chunking of programmed ...

158

Album Review

The Rippingtons: Black Diamond

by Dave Hughes
July 1, 1998

The Rippingtons has always been Russ Freeman's band: Freeman has always composed all the tunes, produced the records, and been featured prominently. It started as sort of a phantom group that was really Freeman and some studio pals, and developed into an actual touring ensemble. The band gradually assumed more of a group identity as long-time members such as Jeff Kashiwa (saxophones and EWI), Kim Stone (bass), and Steve Reid (percussion) became more prominent parts of the mix. But for ...

191

Album Review

The Rippingtons: The Best of The Rippingtons

by Robert Spencer
January 1, 1998

The Rippingtons' new Best Of contains two new tracks to entice completists, and what's more, they're killers. Garden of Babylon is high-gloss funk with a big chunky feel contributed by the backing horns of Jerry Hey and Gary Grant, and Eric Marienthal's demonstrative tenor. “Sapphire Island" is a rippling workout for David Kochanski's piano, with Russ Freeman programming rhythm and chiming in with keyboards, bass, and...classical guitar! Both these tracks are Rippington highlights, deserving their places here with cuts from ...